A week after Alcorn State’s well-oiled machine was slowed down by Grambling, the Braves got back on track and chugging toward the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship. Next stop: Prairie View A&M.
Alcorn re-established its dominance in the conference and sent a message to the rest of the SWAC by scoring 26 second-quarter points and pummeling Texas Southern 40-25 last week. Now, Alcorn will take its league-leading rushing attack to Prairie View with a chance to add to its one-game lead over Alabama State.
“I was proud of them. I really was. That’s always a good sign, when you come off a heartbreaking loss and to get back up and get ready to go,” coach Jay Hopson said. “It’s kind of like that old saying in football, don’t let that game beat you twice. I thought our guys answered the bell.”
Prairie View poses an interesting threat on offense. The Panthers are averaging 32.7 points per game behind running back Johnta Hebert’s seven touchdowns and 94 yards per game average, but can also throw at will with established quarterback Jerry Lovelock. Lovelock has already thrown for 1,500 yards this season, and is averaging 230 yards per game.
Hebert is second in the SWAC in rushing yardage, and Lovelocke is third in passing yardage.
Prairie View is also second in scoring offense, at 32.7 points per game. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Alcorn is first at 41.1 points per game and is taking aim at a defense that’s shown leaks at times this season.
While Heishma Northern’s ballclub can put up points, it’s also susceptible to giving them up at almost the same rate. Prairie View’s opponents are scoring 31.1 points a game on a defense that, despite its numbers, has improved since an 0-4 start. Prairie View is on a three-game winning streak and last week dominated Mississippi Valley State 52-19, but Alcorn is in a prime position to handle the Panthers and move a step closer to its goal of a SWAC title.
Alcorn (6-2, 4-1 SWAC) owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with Alabama State (4-3, 3-2), and is effectively two games ahead in the standings.
Alcorn has also, seemingly, passed the toughest part of its schedule in good shape to make its final push toward its first-ever appearance in the conference championship game.
The Braves have a bye next week, then finish with a road game at Alabama A&M followed by home dates with Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Jackson State. Those last three opponents have a combined six wins this season.
Hopson, though, knows that looking too far ahead is an easy ticket to defeat. Just last year, Alcorn suffered a late-season loss at home to a three-win Alabama A&M squad that cost it a shot at the Eastern Division championship.
Going one game at a time, Hopson said, is not just a cliché but a necessity.
“I try to preach just take it one game at a time and try to not look at it as much as we can. We know football is a game where each week is a different week and a different opponent, and we’ve got to get ready,” Hopson said. “All that stuff will take care of itself at the end. We’ve just got to be ready for a good Prairie View team and all our focus is on Prairie View right now.”